Fertility Treatment

In Vitro Fertilization

Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) started in 1978 with the birth of Louise Brown, born as a result of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). IVF is the most common ART procedure. Other fertility treatment and ART procedures include: Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer (GIFT), and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI).

Pregnancy Loss

The loss of a pregnancy is significant and not an uncommon occurrence. The thinking now is that a good portion of infertility is simply very early miscarriage. This theory was reported in the American College of Gynecology (ACOG) September 1995 Bulletin. "Approximately 50-70% of pregnancies end in spontaneous abortion. Most of these pregnancy losses are unrecognized because they occur before, or at the time of, the expected menses". When these patients are studied carefully, 15% show an unexpected pregnancy per menstrual cycle that didn’t take. The cause of miscarriage can be identified in most couples and fertility treatment can often resolve the problem.

COH/AIH

If your dreams of building a family have been hindered by infertility, controlled ovarian hyperstimulation and artificial insemination (COH/AIH) may be viable fertility treatment options to help you conceive. Candidates for the procedure should have normal eggs, a healthy uterus, and at least one normally functioning fallopian tube. The partner's sperm must also be healthy. In some cases, donated sperm may be used. Candidacy may be negatively effected by conditions like endometriosis, or abnormal tubal or gamete function.

Other Treatments

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is performed when sperm quality is poor due to a very low sperm count. The head of the sperm is injected into the egg using an extremely small glass needle to pick up the sperm and place it in the egg.